FWP approves habitat improvement projects in Northwest Montana
by Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks
October 8, 2019
Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks is moving forward with two habitat improvement projects in northwest Montana.
For the first project, FWP will lease, for a period of one-year, approximately 50 acres of the Ray Kuhns Wildlife Management Area (WMA) between Kalispell and Whitefish for wheat production. This action is part of FWP’s ongoing effort to control weeds, improve soil health, and evaluate agricultural suitability of areas previously farmed under a life-tenancy bequest.
The proposed lease area was spring tilled and summer fallowed and prepared for planting. Under the lease agreement, the lessee will plant winter wheat, control weeds, amend the crop as necessary, and retain the harvest for their personal use and sale. This is a no-cost action that ultimately improves FWP’s management options by demonstrating the agricultural suitability of a historically challenging piece of farm land. By demonstrating the site’s agricultural potential, FWP may better be able to attract interested growers for a multi-year lease and negotiate terms that would benefit wildlife and the long-term management of the property.
The proposed project was released for a 20-day public comment period in August. FWP did not receive any input. More information, including the decision notice, is available online under http://fwp.mt.gov/news/publicNotices/decisionNotices.
A second and separate project involves FWP continuing the restoration of riparian habitat at the Therriault Creek Restoration Project site near Eureka to promote further ecological function and fisheries habitat. The project originated in 2005 when FWP partnered with the Kootenai River Network (KRN), the US Fish and Wildlife Service Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program and a local landowner to reconstruct 9,100 feet of entirely new stream channel that restored the stream channel, and approximately doubled the stream length by increasing meander frequency. Since 2005, FWP has implemented three phases of revegetation efforts to increase woody vegetation cover. Previous revegetation efforts have been successful, but woody vegetation is slowly and naturally expanding into untreated areas of the project.
FWP will now build on previously successful techniques to continue the restoration of riparian restoration at the Therriault Creek Restoration Project site. The project includes implementing three types of treatments to increase woody vegetation cover and improve overall riparian/floodplain function.
The proposed project was released for public comment in August and FWP did not receive any input. More information is available online under http://fwp.mt.gov/news/publicNotices/decisionNotices
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